News Update
Nov. 30, 2010

Auxiliary Conducts Annual Meeting, Presents Honors

Members of the American Angus Auxiliary elected officers and conducted the organization’s annual meeting, Saturday, Nov. 13, during Angus events in conjunction with the 2010 North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE), in Louisville, Ky.

Auxiliary members chose the 2010-2011 officer team, including: Barbara Ettredge, Pilot Point, Texas, president; Anne Lampe, Scott City, Kan., president-elect; Cortney Hill-Dukehart, Modoc, Ind., secretary-treasurer and former Region 6 director; and Kathi Creamer, Montrose, Colo., advisor.

The Auxiliary Annual Meeting also included committee reports, a financial review, and the election and appointment of several regional directors. Read more.

Ten Agriculture Organizations Call on Congress for Estate Tax Reform

Representatives from 10 agricultural organizations, participated in a press event today, Nov. 30, calling on Congress to take action on estate tax reform during the lame-duck session.

The estate tax was once debated as a means to achieve a more equitable society, said National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson. Today, it is often viewed simply as a political device to divide the electorate and fund government programs.

NFU’s policy supports an estate tax rate of 45% progressively indexed to higher rates as the value of the estate increases and an exemption level of $4 million for an individual or $8 million for a married couple.

Stable and predictable taxes are necessary for planning and operating all private enterprises, Johnson said. The uncertainty in the estate tax code has negative effects on small businessesas well as farmers and ranchers.

If Congress does not take action on the issue before Dec. 31, the estate tax will revert to a $1 million exemption level and a rate of 55%.

“According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the estate tax, commonly known as the death tax, is one of the leading causes of the breakup of multigenerational family farms and ranches, and it’s an issue that the 111th Congress needs to address before wrapping up this month,” said Dustin Van Liew, Public Lands Council (PLC) executive director. “If Congress does nothing, in less than one month, farmers and ranchers, land owners and small business owners across the nation will be dealt a blow that many won’t survive.”

Van Liew said there is not a silver bullet approach and there are many commonsense proposals that have been introduced during the 111th Congress. Specifically, Van Liew said PLC supports legislation proposed by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to exempt land in production agriculture from the estate tax, as well as proposals introduced in the U.S. Senate by Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and in the U.S. House by Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas) to increase the exemption level to no less than $5 million; decrease the tax rate to no more than 35%; to index any exemptions to inflation; and to include a stepped-up basis.

Representing NCBA, which hosted the press conference, was Scott Bennett, a junior at Virginia Tech University and an active participant in his family’s cattle operation, Knoll Crest Farm, in Red House, Va. Bennett said he wants to return to his family’s operation but the estate tax is a burden that may make his goal impossible.

“One would think that common sense would prevail and this death [tax] would be reformed in such a way that it allows young people, the next generation, to take over family farms and ranches, which are responsible for providing a safe, abundant and affordable food supply here and across our borders,” said Bennett. “But, here we are only a month away from a death sentence to family farmers and ranchers without any clue about what type of resolve, if any, will move through Congress.”

The estate tax disproportionately hits agriculture. Ninety-six percent of American farms and ranches are owned and operated by families, and the estate tax is considered one of the leading causes of the breakup of multigenerational family farms and ranches. Because farm and ranch assets consist mainly of land, buildings, and specialized equipment, these estates may look wealthy on paper, but they include few saleable assets and little liquidity to pay estate taxes.

“Knoll Crest Farm was started by my great-grandfather, passed on to grandfather, now 76 years young, and primarily operated by my dad and his two brothers. Knoll Crest Farm’s success has relied on risk-taking; passion; innovation; and blood, sweat and tears. My grandfather has attempted to plan around the uncertainty of this tax, but this task is nearly impossible,” said Bennett. “With a $1 million exemption and a 55% tax, we would need to sell most of our assets just to keep part of the operation in the family. This is a death sentence to family farms, ranches and small businesses.”

The other organizations joining NCBA, PLC and NFU in the event were the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, National Milk Producers Federation and the National Pork Producers Council.

— Adapted from releases provided by NFU, NCBA and PLC.

Ag Groups Vary in Stance on Food Safety Modernization Act

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced its disappointment that the U.S. Senate voted last night to move forward with the Food Safety Modernization Act, S. 510. NCBA opposes an amendment offered by Senators John Tester (D-Mont.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) exempting small food producers and processors that is included in the legislation and urges Senators to oppose final passage. NCBA’s Executive Director of Legislative Affairs Kristina Butts said basing exemptions on size, location and proximity to the markets does not make food safer.

“Cattle producers across the country are committed to producing the safest and highest quality beef in the world,” Butts said. “In fact, NCBA supports improvements to our nation’s food safety system that are based on sound science, focused on industry application and have a strong research foundation. Unfortunately, the Senate has lost sight of the fact that food safety knows no size by attaching the Tester/Hagan amendment to this legislation.”

The Tester/Hagan amendment would exempt producers whose annual sales are less than $500,000 and who are not more than 275 miles away from the end-user, be it a consumer, restaurant or a distribution facility.

NCBA joined with more than 20 organizations representing food and agricultural producers to send a letter to U.S. Senators urging them to reject the Tester/Hagan amendment. The letter stated, “Consumers should be able to rely on a federal food safety framework that sets appropriate standards for all products in the marketplace, no matter the size of the producing entity.”

“The beef industry will always make food safety a priority, investing in technologies and techniques to ensure a safe product for consumers,” Butts said. “But the Tester amendment weakens S. 510 and leaves consumers vulnerable. No matter the size — from smallest to the very largest — everyone involved in food production should be responsible for delivering consumers a safe product.” 

The NFU and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauded passage of the Act and urged the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the legislation as soon as possible.

“The passage of this bill is a step in the right direction for food safety,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “This is a historic bill, one that ensures our nation has a safe food supply. The legislation calls for increased inspections of food production and processing facilities and allows appropriators to increase funding for food safety enforcement.”

The bill is the first in more than 70 years to significantly expand the the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) ability to inspect the nation’s food supply.

“This new authority will allow the FDA to be more proactive in heading off potential problems,” said Johnson. “For many years, because of its limited resources and authority, the FDA has been a reactive agency, taking action only after something had become a major issue.”

NFU policy supports the authority of a regulatory agency to require a recall in the event of an outbreak of unsafe food.

“The Senate did a good job taking into account the concerns of sustainable and organic farmers,” said Ferd Hoefner, NSAC Policy Director. “While not a perfect bill from our perspective, we believe it contains important directives to the Food and Drug Administration to develop rules and guidance to improve food safety without resorting to “one-size-fits-all” regulations that create barriers to emerging local and regional food and agricultural systems. The bill also provides clear directives to improve food safety without compromising resource conservation and environmental stewardship goals. We applaud the Senate for including these clear directives and passing the bill and call on the House to pass the same bill as soon as possible.”

NSAC is an alliance of 40 grassroots family farm, food, rural, and conservation organizations working together to advance federal policies that support a transition to a more sustainable farm and food system.

NSAC recently posted a farmer treatise on food safety entitled “A Sustainable Agriculture Perspective on Food Safety” available here.

— Adapted from release provided by NCBA, NFU and NSAC.

— Compiled by Mathew Elliott, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.